“They are getting very close to missing the holidays,” said Gruber, who added “I have heard just in the last 24 hours, not from like a very well placed little birdie but from a birdie, that there’s a possibility, that there are whispers in Apple, among people who work at Apple retail, that they might actually come in ‘the next few days.'”

AppleInsider says the AirPods timeline jives with what they heard in November, with unnamed corporate sources noting there was “no way” the headphones would miss the all important holiday release. One unnamed retail source claimed “We’re ready to go any time,” and are just waiting for the green light to begin sales.

Apple’s AirPods are set to cost $219 CAD ($169 in the US) and will easily pair with your iPhone, while seamlessly switch between your iOS and Mac thanks to iCloud.

We’ve heard so many conflicting reports of the alleged launch date, it’s hard to know what to believe. Gruber’s “little birdies” are always solid sources of intel, but with the lengthy AirPods delay until now, I don’t mind waiting even longer for Apple to get them right.